MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of Madras High Court on Wednesday denied bail to a British drug trafficker Jonathan Thorn who was arrested by Q Branch police at Thoothukudi in June this year and sought a report on the progress of the investigation.
Thorn (47), who belonged to Little Hampton in England, was reportedly staying at a hotel in Thoothukudi four months ago and was trying to illegally travel to Sri Lanka by sea from Threspuram Beach. Based on a tip-off, Q Branch police arrested him on June 11.
Thorn, who denied the allegations, approached the High Court Bench seeking bail and said he had no plan to go to Sri Lanka. He claimed he was staying in Thoothukudi as he was unable to return to his house in Goa due to Covid-19 lockdown.
Justice B Pugalendhi, who heard the plea, noted that Thorn has not cooperated with the investigation yet and has not furnished his mobile phone's password. "Considering his conduct, his involvement in offences relating to narcotic substances to the tune of `40 crore and his presence in Thoothukudi along with currencies of many foreign countries in his possession without any valid reasons, the court is not inclined to grant bail to the petitioner," the judge said.
The investigation agency should ensure that the petitioner does not come out on statutory bail, he added. The judge further directed the agency to file a report to the court on the progress of the investigation after two months. Thorn was previously arrested by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) in an inter-state drug bust in 2018 and was reportedly out on bail.